The Sanya Phoenix International Airport, located in the resort city of Sanya in south China's tropical island province of Hainan, commenced the trial operation of its newly built Terminal 3 (T3) on Sunday, marking a major expansion of the tourism hub's capacity ahead of the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush.
With the addition of T3, the airport's annual passenger throughput is projected to reach 30 million trips.
The terminal will fully assume the function of handling domestic flights, featuring 40 check-in counters, 23 security screening lanes, and seven fixed boarding bridges.
Connected to Terminals 1 and 2 via enclosed corridors, it is intended to deliver a seamless travel experience for passengers.
During the 2026 Spring Festival travel season, spanning from February 2 to March 13, the Sanya Phoenix International Airport is expected to handle about 18,600 flights and 3.49 million passenger trips.
By leveraging T3's added capacity, the airport aims to alleviate operational pressure on other terminals and improve service efficiency during the peak travel period.
"The airport will work to enhance its overall operational capacity and turnover efficiency, strengthen end-to-end flight management, and focus efforts on increasing the rate of flights docking at bridges and the on-time rate, to keep improving travel experience for passengers," said Li Xiaohuan, assistant to the president of the Sanya Phoenix International Airport.
South China's Sanya Phoenix International Airport launches trial operation of new terminal
South China's Sanya Phoenix International Airport launches trial operation of new terminal
The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 4.2 percent year on year in May, marking its highest level since May 2023, as energy prices remained high, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday.
Notably, the energy index for May increased 3.9 percent month on month, accounting for over 60 percent of headline inflation.
Gasoline and fuel oil prices increased 40.5 percent and 58.9 percent year on year, respectively, in May.
The national average price of gasoline reached 4.555 U.S. dollars per gallon on May 20, a 50 percent rise since the Iran conflict started in February, according to data released by the American Automobile Association. The price later eased to 4.151 dollars per gallon on Wednesday.
The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 2.9 percent year on year in May.
Statistics show that U.S. headline CPI for May rose 0.5 percent month on month, down from 0.6 percent in April, while core CPI increased 0.2 percent, compared with a 0.4 percent gain in April and below the market consensus forecast of 0.3 percent.
The report arrives at a critical juncture for markets and Federal Reserve policymakers. While the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at its June 17 meeting, policymakers acknowledged that the inflation surge caused by the Iran conflict will likely delay any rate reduction. The data are likely to reinforce this stance.
Oil prices rose while U.S. stocks traded lower in the morning session on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran has "taken too long to negotiate a deal" and will "have to pay the price."
U.S. May CPI rises to highest level since May 2023
